After the game, Lebo said goodbye to his players as he will take an indefinite leave of absence. He will have surgery on Monday and assistant coach Michael Perry will fill in as the Pirates play at Connecticut next Sunday.

“It didn’t feel any different until after the game when I had to tell them goodbye and leave,” Lebo said. “That was the hard part. I’ve never had to separate for a period of time from my group.

“I’m a little nervous about the surgery so at least the game took my mind off it. My wife says I am a horrible patient.”

East Carolina (9-10, 1-5 American), which dropped its fifth-straight game, held Cincinnati to 32 percent (19-of-58) from the floor and to just two 3-pointers.

“You look at those numbers and they are winning numbers,” said Lebo. “They are the top scoring team in the league and we held them to 55 points. That’s a good night’s work on the defensive end.”

The Pirates closed its second-half deficit to six before Cincinnati’s Jarron Cumberland scored a bucket and a free throw.

Despite trailing by double-digits for most of the half, Kentrell Barkley’s 3-pointer with two minutes remaining moved ECU within 52-44.

The Pirates didn’t get any closer than that eight-point deficit.

“I told them I was really proud to be their coach,” Lebo said. “I thought we battle awfully hard and executed our defensive game plan. We executed offensive against a good team, but we just couldn’t put the ball in the basket.”

Hughes scored 18 points and Sheppard contributed 13.

ECU shot just 25.4 percent (15-for-59) and made just 17.4 percent from long range (4-for-23).

“We are still in this slump where we aren’t making shots,” Sheppard said. “We are still trying to get into the flow. One of these games, our shot’s going to come back and it’s going to be a beautiful feeling.”

Sheppard and Hughes combined for all of ECU’s first-half points as it trailed 31-23 at halftime.

Cincinnati scored the game’s first seven points before Hughes put ECU on the scoreboard with a three after the Pirates missed their first six shots.

The Pirates eased into their first lead, 15-13, after Hughes drained another trey with 10:50 remaining in the first half.

The Bearcats used an 8-1 spurt to gain a five-point edge, but a run by Hughes and Sheppard tied the score at 21-21.

Troy Caupain hit a mid-range jumper, then buried a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play to push the Bearcats to an eight-point advantage.

“We are working hard every day,” Hughes said. “Right now, it’s just shots. Most of our losses are because we are missing shots. Once we get confidence, we will be fine.”

“They are a hard team to get good looks against,” Lebo said. “I thought we did many good things and I was proud of their effort. When we had a chance to get one or two to go, we just couldn’t put the ball in the basket.

“You can see in their eyes that they are hoping it goes in rather than shooting it and thinking it’s going in.”

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